‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Writers In Talks To Direct ‘Flashpoint’

A lot of ink has been spent (including by this very writer) on attempts to peer through the fog of uncertainty that currently surrounds DC’s film plans. Whatever one thinks of the film, the tepid box office response to ‘Justice League’ has laid bare the cracks in the foundation of the house that DC has spent the last five years (and some $1.3 billion) building.

All that being what it is, it’s easy to forget that – outside of ‘Justice League’ itself and it’s immediate follow ups – Warner’s plans for their cinematic universe were far from set in stone. While it was clear that the studio was waiting to see just how well ‘Justice League’ went over to solidify their slate, they seemed to be perpetually testing the waters, announcing films that may or may not be made and which may or may not even be set in the DC Extended Universe.

Even those films that have progressed beyond an announcement have faced their own share of troubles, with more than one losing multiple directors and/or writers. While it’s hardly the only DC film project to face these troubles, the most prominent of these is arguably ‘Flashpoint’. Not only was Warner prioritizing the film in the hope of Ezra Miller’s Scarlet Speedster becoming a breakout character, but as the title implies (and the internet rumor mill has more or less come to treat as gospel), it also offers an avenue for the studio to reset their universe without going all the way back to square one.

But despite (or perhaps because of) the importance that the studio has placed on the film, it has gained and lost more than its share of creatives. Its first director, Seth Grahame-Smith, also worked on early drafts of the screenplay before departing in April 2016. He was succeeded at the helm by Rick Famuyiwa, who in turn walked away in October of that year citing “creative differences.” Since then, ‘Flashpoint’ has been through several script revisions without a director attached.

That may have finally changed, with the announcement (via the Hollywood Reporter) that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are currently in talks to direct the film. The duo, best known to superhero fans for co-writing last summer’s ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’, cut their teeth penning comedies like ‘Horrible Bosses’ and ‘Vacation’. That pedigree would make them ideal candidates to bring the Flash to the screen, to say nothing of dragging the DCEU that much further from the doom and gloom that so characterized its formative outings.

No release date has yet been set for ‘Flashpoint’. The next DC film due to hit theaters in this December’s Jason Momoa vehicle, ‘Aquaman’.

Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on these and other upcoming DC films as it becomes available.